Trackable Liposomes for In Vivo Delivery Tracing toward Personalized Medicine Care under NIR Light on Skin Tumor.

We report an near-infrared (NIR)-trackable and therapeutic liposome with skin tumor specificity. Liposomes with a hydrodynamic diameter of ∼20 nm are tracked under the vein visualization imaging system in the presence of loaded paclitaxel and NIR-active agents. The ability to track liposome nanocarriers is recorded on the tissue-mimicking phantom model and in vivo mouse veins after intravenous administration. The trackable liposome delivery provides in vitro and in vivo photothermal heat (∼40 °C) for NIR-light-triggered area-specific chemotherapeutic release. This approach can be linked with a real-time vein-imaging system to track and apply area-specific local heat, which hitchhikes liposomes from the vein and finally releases them at the tumor site. We conducted studies on mice skin tumors that indicated the disappearance of tumors visibly and histologically (H&E stains). The ability of nanocarriers to monitor after administration is crucial for improving the effectiveness and specificity of cancer therapy, which could be achieved in the trackable delivery system.

Imprinted covalent organic frameworks solid-phase microextraction fiber for in vivo monitoring of acidic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in live aloe.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) can lead to risks associated with animal and human health through the transfer along food chains. It is confirmed that PFASs can be transported to each part of plants after taken up by the roots. To better elucidate the underlying mechanisms for such exposure, it is highly valuable to develop analytical capabilities for in vivo monitoring of PFASs in live plants. In this work, a novel imprinted covalent organic frameworks (CMIP) solid-phase microextraction coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed with low limits of detection for six acidic PFASs (0.1-0.3 ng g-1) and used for in vivo monitoring in live aloe. The CMIP coating shows good precision (RSD of intra and inter ≤9.6 % and 10.2 %, respectively) and possesses much higher extraction efficiency than the commercial coatings. After cultivating aloe in soil spiked PFASs, the in vivo assays gave a wealth of information, including steady-state concentrations, translocation factors, elimination rate constants, and half-life of PFASs. The in vivo tracing method for live plants can provide much needed and unique information to evaluate the risk of PFASs, which are very important for the safety of agriculture production.

Low-toxic, fluorescent labeled and size-controlled graphene oxide quantum dots@polystyrene nanospheres as reference material for quantitative determination and in vivo tracing.

Polystyrene (PS) is selected as a representative nanoplastic and persistent pollutant for its difficult degradation and wide application. The environmental risk assessment of PS is obstructed by the toxic dye-based fluorescent PS, which false positives could be induced by the leakage of dye. For high biocompatibility, low toxicity, hydrophilicity, good water dispersibility, strong fluorescent stability, graphene oxide quantum dots (o-CQDs) are selected and embedded into PS microspheres, i.e., o-CQDs@PS, by microemulsion polymerization and denoted as CPS. Meanwhile, the sizes of CPS, e.g., 100, 150, and 200 nm, could be controlled by optimizing the type and number of water-soluble initiators. The anti-interference, low toxicity, and in vivo fluorescent tracing of CPS are proven by the coexistence of metals (including Fe2+, Fe3+, K+, Ba2+, Al3+, Zn2+, Mg2+, Ca2+, and Na+) on the fluorescence intensity of CPS, the growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Artemia cysts as aquatic phytoplankton and zooplankton cultured with CPS, and the transfer of CPS from water into brine shrimp. In the concentration range of 0.1-100 mg/L, CPS can be quantitatively determined, which is suitable for coastal water and wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, CPS with standard size is suitable as reference material of PS.

In vivo tracing of endogenous salicylic acids as the biomarkers for evaluating the toxicity of nano-TiO2 to plants.

Currently, nano-titanium dioxide (nTiO2) is considered an emerging environmental contaminant. Bottlenecked by the traditional destructive and lethal sampling methods, nTiO2's effect in living plants is poorly investigated. Here, in vivo tracing of endogenous salicylic acids at regular intervals was performed by using solid phase microextraction (SPME) technique for evaluating the effects of nTiO2 on plants. By planting aloe in soil containing varying amounts of nTiO2, the titanium (Ti) element accumulated in the leaves to concentrations and then reached the maximum of 1.1 ± 0.4 µg/g after nTiO2 exceeding 0.1 g/kg. The levels of salicylic acid (SA) and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) were up-regulated upon the exposure to nTiO2, while were positively correlated to the contents of Ti. Moreover, the increased malondialdehyde, decreased total superoxide dismutase and fluctuated glutathione along with the addition of nTiO2 demonstrated the oxidative stress caused by nTiO2. Meanwhile, apparent growth indicators including leaf elongation, plant fresh weight and root development were influenced, which further confirmed the toxicity of nTiO2 imparted on aloe. This study presents the possibility of using salicylic acids as biomarkers for revealing the toxicity of nTiO2 on plants in addition to the other biomarkers and biomass data, and the in vivo SPME technique is powerful for their monitoring.

Determination of four salicylic acids in aloe by in vivo solid phase microextraction coupling with liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection.

In recent years, great concerns have been raised about salicylic acid (SA) and its derivatives as plant regulators. Therefore, precise determination of the distribution of SAs in the living plants is necessary for not only fundamental researches but also the regulating mechanisms. In this study, a custom-made solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber based on diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride-assembled graphene oxide-coated C18 composite (C18@GO@PDDA) was proposed for in vivo detection of salicylic acid, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), 4-methyl salicylic acid（4-SA）and 3-methyl salicylic acid (3-SA) in aloe plants. Under the optimized conditions, the analytical performance evaluated in homogenized aloe plant tissues exhibited low detection limits (1.8-2.8 µg g-1), wide linear ranges (10-5000 µg g-1), and satisfactory reproducibility (relative standard deviations less than 8.4% and 9.3% for inter-fiber and intra-fiber assays, respectively). Under cadmium stress, the developed method was applied for the in vivo tracing of four salicylic acids in aloe plants. A 48-h in vivo tracing revealed that salicylic acids were involved in the pathway of cadmium stress tolerance. To our best knowledge, it is the first effort to realize the in vivo analysis of SA and its derivatives in plants, and it has a made a great step forward in the area of plant hormone analysis.

In vivo tracing of organochloride and organophosphorus pesticides in different organs of hydroponically grown malabar spinach (Basella alba L.).

An in vivo uptake and elimination tracing study based on solid phase microextraction (SPME) was conducted to investigate the accumulation, persistence and distribution of organochloride pesticides (OCPs) and organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) in malabar spinach (Basella alba L.) plants. Uptake and elimination of the pesticides were traced in leaves, stems and roots of living malabar spinach plants. Root concentration factor (RCF), distribution concentration factor (DCF) and transpiration stream concentration factor (TSCF) were calculated based on the in vivo tracing data. The tracing data showed that the OCPs were much more accumulative and persistent than the OPPs in roots, while they were similarly accumulative and persistent in leaves and stems. RCF values of the OPPs or OCPs were likely to increase with the increase in LogKow values except fenthion. Obtained DCF values indicated that OPPs and OCPs were more accumulative in the organs containing more lipids. TSCF values showed that the translocation of OPPs and OCPs from roots to foliage was firstly dependent on the hydrophobicity of the compounds, but also significantly affected by the water solubility. This is the first study of generating RCF, DCF and TSCF data in living plants by in vivo sampling method, which provides a foundation to promote the application of in vivo SPME and improve understanding of contaminant behaviors in living plants.

Probing the Fifty Shades of EMT in Metastasis.

The involvement of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in metastasis has long been under debate. Recent efforts to probe the occurrence and functional significance of EMT in clinical samples and animal models have produced exciting but sometimes conflicting findings. The diversity of EMT underlies the challenge in studying its role in metastasis.

In vivo tracing of organophosphorus pesticides in cabbage (Brassica parachinensis) and aloe (Barbadensis).

In vivo solid-phase microextraction (SPME) sampling method coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was employed to trace the uptake and elimination of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) in two kinds of edible plants, cabbage (Brassica parachinensis) and aloe (Barbadensis). The metabolism of fenthion in aloe was also investigated by the liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS/MS) to understand the fate of OPPs in living plants better. Transpiration stream concentration factor (TSCF) and depuration rate constants of the OPPs in living plants were obtained therein. The health risk of the OPPs treated aloe was estimated by the maximum residue limit (MRL) approach, and it revealed that the OPPs were rather safe for their fast degradable property. However, peak concentration of fenthion-sulfoxide was found to exceed the MRL and was higher than that of the parent fenthion, which indicated the potential risk of pesticide metabolites. This study highlighted the application of in vivo SPME for contaminant tracing in different living edible plants. The in vivo tracing method is very convenient and can provide more data to evaluate the risk of different pesticides, which are very important for the safety of agriculture production.